Suburban office vacancy rates stable, buck downtown trend: C&W

Office vacancy rates in Ottawa’s suburbs are bucking the trend seen in other areas of the city by staying “remarkably stable,” according to a new report from commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa.

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While suburban office vacancy rates have fluctuated from quarter to quarter, the brokerage says that overall they’ve “remained remarkably stable.”

According to the report, vacancy rates in the suburban west market decreased slightly during the first three months of 2014, falling from 11.1 per cent to 10.3 per cent during the previous quarter.

In the east, rates were up from 4.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent. That puts the overall suburban vacancy rate at 8.7 per cent.

Asking rents for suburban offices was up to $13.61 per square foot this year from $13.46 during the final three months of 2013. East-end landlords are asking an averages of $15.27 per square foot while in the west end office space is renting for an average of $13.18 per square foot.

The citywide vacancy rate, by contrast, increased to 8.3 per cent during the first quarter from 7.8 per cent during the same period a year ago.